"The movie will soon by finished and the comedian who opens
the stage show is ready and made-up in the wings. He sits
with his agent, (AL EVANS) a small, worried, bespectacled
man, who waves an unlighted cigar as big as himself."

Name: Paul Source: unca20080511.htmIn the news today, George W. Bush has signed legislation banning firearms in the U.S., legalizing homosexual marriage, outlawing corporate lobbying in Congress, bringing all American troops in combat zones home, declared our oil dependence as a sin, gave the media access to millions of un-redacted documents relating to every decision made by his cabinet since his inauguration, sold off all his stock shares and gave teachers across America a 40% raise in salary.

He has fired Dick Cheney and will testify in court against 'Scooter' Libby and Alberto Gonzalas, and is removing himself from office effective immediately and reporting to Guantanamo Bay for whatever justice the newly released prisoners see fit to dispense, allowing Al Gore to finish what is left of his term.

He has admitted to the attempts to transfer his brain into the body of another Presidential candidate so that he may continue to rule, and that there were problems with finding it. Showing the White House Press Corps the scarred weals from his demon birth, he also provided internet photographs and DNA from his BohemianGrove trysts, conclusive proof that powerful, rich, white men have way too much time on their hands.

He also said he was worried about the environment, enjoys reading Proust (he quoted extensively from THE PRISONER, by memory, in French), spanked his children when they were bad, and told everyone in the world the he is very sorry for being a despicable human being. He blames his mother.

Name: Finder Doug Source: unca20080511.htmStars align, the class workload balances, and I am able to make the trek to I-Con without completely undoing the hard work thus far this semester towards my degree. So there will be yet another familiar face in the crowd. (Truth be told, I really just miss the the bellow of "Hey LANE!" from our host reverberating off the walls. Like a big fuzzy hug, that.)

When you find me, however, I will have my nose buried in David Foster Wallace's "Consider The Lobster", as I have a review due on the 16th for the narrative nonfiction class. Concessions needed to be made. Plus, it's easier than trying to type a paper on the laptop while standing in an autograph line.

Barney - Just so I'm sure I've got this right - as ref (or even masked bad guy) you're going to climb into the Octagon at the same time as Richmond/Lane/Ellison?

In that scenario, you might as well tattoo "Gulliver" across your brow, chuckles.

"After seventy years, Jerome Siegels heirs regain what he granted so long ago the copyright in the Superman material that was published in Action Comics Vol. 1. What remains is an apportionment of profits, guided in some measure by the rulings contained in this Order, and a trial on whether to include the profits generated by DC Comics corporate siblings exploitation of the Superman copyright."

As the blogger at the link says, this doesn't resolve all the issues between Mrs. Siegel and DC Comics, such as ownership of Superboy, but it's still a pretty big deal. What it comes down to is that the Siegel family and DC Comics will now for all intents and purposes co-own Superman (it's admittedly a bit more complicated than that, click the FAQ at the site linked above for more). It's also a pretty major victory after decades of heartbreak and calumny on DC's part.

You would think that comics fans in general would celebrate this victory, "a neverending battle" and all that, but there is apparently an extremely vocal subset of fans who are angrily ripping into Mrs. Siegel on charges of greed and selfishness, who are trotting out the usual shitheaded lectures about how Siegel and Shuster should have "known better", and of course the cries of alarm that all this might somehow interrupt their beloved comic book intake habits. It's pretty sickening, so I'll spare you guys any links. But it can't take away the righting of a great wrong, so however minute a victory it may be, it's still a reason to celebrate.

Name: Lionel Source: unca20080511.htmMy all time favorite short film from England and it's impossible to find anywhere.A strangely-garbed and eccentric-acting stranger arrives in a small English town. But, after several days on being in the town, the citizens accept him as a harmless, though a bit daft, member of the community. He then pays a visit to the town's leading citizen and reveals himself as a man with the perfect plan for murder. I think the last time I saw it was on some movie channel about 20 years ago.

Name: Chris Thurlow Source: unca20080511.htmI saw this recently, did the crazy man leave a trail of incriminating confetti? You can find that on DVD. Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected (available through Netflix). I believe it is located somewhere in the third set. That stood out as one of my favorites, other than those that were based on Dahl's stories, though it was a very entertaining series overall...lots of strange murders and black comedy.

Name: Lionel Source: unca20080511.htm Chris,
I looked up Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected. The episode you mentioned is called "Stranger in Town" (1982) It's a remake with Derek Jacobi. "The Stranger Left No Card" starred the late Alan Badel and was filmed in black and white.